Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will chair the 81st meeting of the All India Presiding Officers’ Conference (AIPOC) through video conferencing on Wednesday.

The meeting coincides with the completion of 100 years of the first conference of all India presiding officers held in Shimla.

“It was on this very day that the 1st AIPOC was held in Shimla a hundred years ago.  The Conference is also being organised in the backdrop of International Day of Democracy, which is celebrated on 15 September every year,” a note from the Lok Sabha secretariat said here.

Discussion will be held on the role of  ‘Role of Legislature in fostering effective and meaningful democracy’. Presiding officers of various state assemblies in the country are expected to take part in the event.

The presiding officers of legislative bodies in India besides several national Parliaments will also take part in the conference.

At the end of the two-day All India Presiding Officers’ Conference held on  25-26 November, 2020, at Kevaria, Gujarat, Speaker Om Birla had said the presiding officers had taken a pledge to strengthen the democratic institutions so that they could work together for the welfare of society and democracy.

In the conference, Birla had said, the presiding officers had expressed their views on how to strengthen democracy and make the institutions more accountable. “The Presiding Officers have taken a decision to honour the Best State Legislature, to be nominated by a committee to be formed for this purpose of studying the works of various State Legislatures and then taking a decision on it.  This will inspire the other State Legislatures to work more efficiently,” he said.

The presiding officers had also decided to inform the people of the country about the fundamental rights and duties as stated in the Constitution. “The Parliament and the State Legislatures will work jointly for this purpose,” the Lok Sabha Speaker had said, requesting all state and UT governments to make reading of the Preamble in all schools and colleges a compulsory daily activity.

Birla had also urged the State Assemblies to coordinate with the state governments to work for making every person and, especially, youths, aware about the fundamental rights and duties as enshrined in our Constitution. “As this is the centennial year of the Presiding Officers’ Conference, this year will be celebrated as a festival of democracy,” Birla said.